Silicon-Polymer Electro-thermal bimorph actuators with SiC bottom-layer for large out-of-plane motion and improved power efficiency

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of a silicon-polymer electro-thermal out-of-plane bimorph actuator with SiC as bottom layer, for improved motion and better energy efficiency. The proposed concept improves on an earlier design using aluminum by making the bottom layer of SiC, a more robust material with a lower CTE. A process is developed to fabricate out-of-plane actuators with either Al or SiC as bottom layer. Both devices are characterized and their performances are compared. The new actuator with SiC as bottom layer shows a higher displacement (15.5μm) with less actuation voltage (4 V) and an average temperature increase on the actuator of 82°C.